The red truck sailed through the crash barrier and over the cliff.
Sam and Bethica watched it go, silent, listening to it hit. Sam closed his eyes against the memory of the brown-haired kid, alive and vibrant and, and alive, dammit, and he reached out for Bethica’s hand to remind himself that he hadn’t just set Kevin up only to save himself. It wasn’t like Maggie and Tom. It wasn’t. Bethica unsnapped the seat belt and grabbed his arm, peering through the window at the column of smoke rising from the gorge below.
“Oh, no,” she whispered. “Kevin . ..”
“That’s it,” Al announced, examining the handlink. “Bethica and her baby survive”—he slanted a glance to the girl—“even if she doesn’t believe it yet. You can Leap, Sam.”
Sam took a deep breath and tried to quit shuddering. “What about—”
“Ziggy says there were two things that needed to be fixed on this Leap. The second one was yours—saving Bethica and the baby. So she’ll grow up and call on her favorite counselor for help during orientation.” There was no par-ticular emotion in Al’s voice as he said it.
“But . . .” Sam was ignoring Bethica’s wide eyes. He took her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin.
“The first thing was getting the baby’s father to marry Bethica. No, I guess that really would have been second, wouldn’t it. Ziggy says to do that Wickie had to be con-vinced he could do something with his life. And that was a job for Verbeena. It took both of you this time. You had to Leap in to send Wickie back to Verbeena, and at the same time save Bethica and the baby. Wickie and Bethica do okay. They have three more kids, in fact.”
“But—”
“I know. I know. So why haven’t you Leaped? I don’t know.”
“I think I do,” Sam muttered. His lips brushed Bethica’s hair, and she sat up slowly to look at him. “Bethica? It’s over. You’re okay. The baby’s going to be okay too. It’s all right.”
She still didn’t cry well. “How do you know?” she demanded, through a veil of matted hair and tears.
Sam took a deep breath. “Because I’m going to marry you.” He smiled, thinking of Rimae as Wickie’s mother- in-law. She was a tough woman, but a good one. It might be a shock, but he thought she’d get used to it.
Bethica was shocked out of her tears, anyway. “Really?”
“Really,” he said. “I promise. And if I forget I prom-ised”—he rubbed his head and gave an entirely sincere wince—“you have to remind me. All right?”
“If I do you have to go to school,” she said, ever prac-tical.
“I’ll go to school, too.”
“Promise?”
“I can’t imagine you’re going to let me forget.”
She smiled, shaky but brave, and reached out one hand to touch his face. “You’re a good man, Wickie Gray Wolf.”
“Nothing like the love of a good woman,” Al said sadly, and waved goodbye as Sam Leaped.
